‘Affluenza’ teen arrives in Texas after being deported from Mexico

MEXICO CITY/FORT WORTH, Texas — The American teenager derided for a defense of "affluenza" in the killing four people while driving drunk arrived back in Texas on Thursday after being deported from Mexico.

Ethan Couch, 18, was seen with his hands behind his back being escorted by uniformed officers through the airport.

He fled to Mexico with his mother in December after a video emerged on social media that likely showed him in violation of the probation deal reached in juvenile court that kept him out of prison for causing the deadly crash in 2013.

Couch, 18, and his mother, Tonya, were arrested in Mexico last month following a more than two-week-long manhunt. His mother was deported to the United States last month and Couch dropped a legal appeal against his extradition.

Couch had departed Mexico City at 8:50 a.m. local time aboard Aeromexico flight 2682 heading for Dallas, the Mexican migration department said

In a video sent by migration authorities, Couch, who was wearing a camouflage hooded top and jeans, could be seen signing papers before being accompanied by Mexican officials onto the plane.

Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said Couch will be placed in a juvenile detention center.

He will then face a detention hearing on either Friday or Monday, at which a judge will determine whether to transfer the case from the juvenile system to the adult system, Sam Jordan, a spokeswoman for the Tarrant County District Attorney's office, said in an email.

Couch's lawyers may seek to transfer him to the adult system so that he can apply for bail, an option not available in the juvenile system, a legal official familiar with the case said.

If he is found to have violated the terms of his probation, legal authorities said Couch faces about four months behind bars. His mother Tonya Couch faces up to 10 years in prison for helping her son flee to Mexico. She has already returned to Texas and has been freed on bond.

Couch was sentenced to 10 years of drug-and-alcohol-free probation for intoxication manslaughter, a punishment condemned by critics as privilege rewarded with leniency.

During the trial, a psychologist sparked outrage by saying in his defense that Couch was so wealthy and spoiled, that he could not tell the difference between right and wrong - hence, he was suffering from affluenza.

But Tarrant County prosecutors say Couch is responsible for his own absence by fleeing to Mexico.